“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
I personally, feel sorry for him for two reasons: (1) he has never experienced what he extolls. Yes he had
some problems as a youngster, but tell me who doesn't and many worse. (2) He has been groomed since he was
mentored by Frank Marshall Davis and became a favorite of Valerie Jerritt and her family and the political machine
in Chicago. He believes(?) what he says? I believe that he did, but, reality has a funny way hitting you in the face when you least expect it. It is easier for his minions, but not for him or his wife. They are beginning to see the actual world
around them and perhaps they will grow up, but, maybe not. Time will tell us where he ends up. I wish him well!
**Michael Yon reporting with his boots on the ground in Afganistan used this quote and I thank him for his service as a human being who chooses to tell things as they truly are and not to what anyone who is not in a place tell us.